Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A22—BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH
  • A22C—PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH
  • A22C29/00—Processing shellfish or bivalves, e.g. oysters, lobsters; Devices therefor, e.g. claw locks, claw crushers, grading devices; Processing lines

Definitions

• This invention relates to a processing machine for boiled/cooked crab comprising a shell crusher means and a post-crusher separation means in whic the crab meat is separated from the shell fragments.
• a number of crab processing and similar machines are known in the art for the manufacture of a refined product comprising crab meat or similar meat, for example meat of lobster or other crustacean.
• One crab processing machine known in the art utilises a separation operation based on centrifugal techniques. This machine comprises a centrifuge the design of which is only intended to separate/cleanse the carapace (or "main body") of the shell.
• This machine comprises a centrifuge the design of which is only intended to separate/cleanse the carapace (or "main body") of the shell.
• This known machine is clearly of limited application. Its processing capacity is also small, and the operation of the machine requires considerable manual effort.
• Another crab processing machine known in the art utilises water jets by which to separate the crab meat from the shell fragments.
• the water consump- tion of this machine is so great that the aromatic components of the crab meat are diluted by the rinse water and may even dissolve in it.
• the crab After going through this separation operation the crab has therefore lost such a considerable portion of its natural and characteristic aroma and taste that a special crab concentrate must be added, a step which generally impairs the meat's quality - including its taste quality - as the crab meat after addition of the concentrate has a "watery" or bland taste.
• This known machine too, is dependent for its operation on considerable manual labour since it takes several persons to work it.
• US-PS 3.266.543 discloses a machine which structurally and functionally differs only in minor details from the machine disclosed in US-PS 3.266.542. OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION
• the objective of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the known art and thereby provide a processing machine for the stated purpose which leaves the crab meat with its taste and aroma components intact after the processing operation, being a machine having large capacity relative to its size and space requirements, and for which the requirement for human intervention is generally limited to the feeding of the machine with boiled crab in the form of claws, minor appendages and "body shell/carapace".
• the separation operation must in addition be so effective that the crab meat subsequent to processing is completely or substantially uncontaminated by shell fragments.
• Figure 1 is a side elevation with cut-away views showing the cra processing machine complete, while; Figure 2 shows in larger scale the separation means of the processin machine separately, again in a side view.
• the crab processing machine depicted in the drawings comprises a fee hopper 1, which is supplied - for example from a conveyor belt (not shown) with boiled crab in the form of claws, minor appendages and carapaces.
• a fee hopper 1 which is supplied - for example from a conveyor belt (not shown) with boiled crab in the form of claws, minor appendages and carapaces.
• a widened portion 1' in which two co-operatin crushing rollers 2 are provided.
• a first drive motor 3 Serving to drive the crushing rollers 2 i opposite directions is a first drive motor 3, preferably electrically powered, which turns the crushing rollers 2 by means of a chain drive comprising chain 4 and sprockets 4', 4" and 4'".
• a photoelectric cell 6 the purpose of which is to give a signal whenever the container is becoming too full. This undesirable circumstance might result if feed rate were too great relative to the separation capacity of the machine.
• the photo- electric cell signals - through a transmission path, not shown - for the rotation of the crushing rollers to cease.
• This level regulation system is so arranged that the crushing rollers 2 are again set in rotation once the level in the container 5 has subsided to below the level guarded by the photoelectric cell 6.
• a transport auger (feed screw) 8 which is driven round by means of a second electric motor 9.
• This transport auger 8 has a dual purpose; firstly the purely transportive purpose of implementing the feed operation into the machine's separation means, secondly an aeration function by which the crab medium is aerated or broken up, reducing the adhesion of the crab meat to the shell fragments.
• the separation means is supplied with crab medium of lighter (airier) consistency, thereby serving to facilitate the subsequent special separation process of the invention.
• the transport pipe 7 is furnished at its outward end with a pipe bend 7' which extends through the center of a spinning shell collection tray 10 for shell fragments and waste.
• This shell collection tray 10 is furnished with a peripherally located discharge pipe 11.
• the pipe bend T empties just above the separation means.
• the separation means comprises a plurality of spinning, screw-threaded spindles 12 which, in the exemplary embodiment considered herein are vertically oriented, but which in alternative embodiments can be oriented at an angle to the vertical having a steep slope.
• the bearings and drive particulars of a single such spindle 12 are shown in detail in Figure 2, described later. Note for now that the spindles 12 are driven by the underlying main shaft 14 which can rotate at a speed of, say, 1800 revolutions a minute; causing each spindle to rotate at, say, 700 revolutions minute.
• th spindles 12 As the crab medium drops into the generally round space defined by th spindles 12 in the meat collection tray 13, the medium is flung radially outwar against the spindles 12 by the spinning of the meat collection tray 13. Th spindles are deployed with a mutual separation distance (to be determined b experiment) which permits only the pliant crab meat to pass through the spac between adjacent spindles.
• the crab shell fragments on the other hand are too big, and furthermore also too hard, to be squeezed and passed between the spindles.
• the screw-thread orientation of the spindles and their direction o rotation impart an upward twisting motion, meaning that they drive the shell fragments upward, and as these separated shell fragments reach the top ends of the spindles, they collect in the spinning shell collection tray 10, whereupon they are flung outward to the tray periphery and tumble down the discharge pipe 11.
• the meat collection tray 13 is likewise furnished with a discharge pipe 15.
• the respective spinning collection trays 10 and 13 can be fitted with suitably shaped stationary baffles, respective ⁇ ly 16 and 17, for example made of rubber.
• receiving receptacles respectively 18 and 19, which may alternatively be replaced by conveyor belts (not shown).
• the upper collection tray 10 for shell and waste is caused to rotate by means of a third electric motor 20 via a toothed belt or chain drive 21.
• a fourth electric motor 22 turns an intermediate shaft 24 running parallel to the main shaft 14 through a helical drive gearbox (whose casing is denoted 23); said parallel intermediate shaft 24 causing via two parallel drives, being either toothed-belt-and-pulley drives or chain-and-sprocket drives 25, 26 the rotation of the main shaft 14 (lower parallel drive) and sun gear assembly (upper parallel drive).
• the driven toothed belt drive pulleys, or driven chain drive sprockets are denoted 25' and 26'.
• the bearings of the main shaft 14 are indicated schematically by numbers 27 and 28.
• the upper toothed belt pulley 25' and, above it, a sun gear 29 of larger diameter form an integral unit (the sun gear assembly) by virtue of a connector sleeve 30, and are (rotatably) mounted on the main shaft 14 by means of two ball bearings 31 and 31'.
• Reference numeral 32 denotes an oil seal (simmer) ring.
• said spindle 12 is provided with a planetary gear 33 of substantially smaller diameter than the central sun gear 29 with which it meshes.
• the spindle 12 is supported below planetary gear 33 by, in downward order: needle bearing 34, retainer (seger) ring 35, axial (thrust) ball bearing 36 and securing nut 37.
• the spindle 12 is supported above planetary gear 33 by, in upward order: two axially mounted needle bearings 38 and 38' and a top oil seal (simmer) ring 39.
• the toothed belt pulley 25' and the central sun gear 29 are (rotatably) mounted on the main shaft 14 by means of two ball bearings 31, 31'. Consequently the central sun gear 29 rotates freely on the main sha 14, permitting the speed of revolution of the spindles 12 to be regulated varying the diameter of the toothed belt pulley 25'.
• the axial ball bearing, needle bearings and sun and planetary gear se 29, 33 should preferably run in an oil bath. In order to diminish the nutrition hazards associated with oil leaks a favourable choice of oil would be soya oi for example.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Zoology (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Meat, Egg Or Seafood Products (AREA)
• Crushing And Pulverization Processes (AREA)
• Processing Of Meat And Fish (AREA)
• Farming Of Fish And Shellfish (AREA)
• General Preparation And Processing Of Foods (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19891438

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (15)

Families Citing this family (10)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 1988
  • 1988-11-17 NO NO885125A patent/NO165572C/no unknown
• 1989
  • 1989-11-13 IE IE363689A patent/IE62269B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1989-11-15 CA CA002003007A patent/CA2003007C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1989-11-16 BR BR898907783A patent/BR8907783A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1989-11-16 JP JP2500065A patent/JPH04500606A/ja active Granted
  • 1989-11-16 AU AU46300/89A patent/AU622249B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1989-11-16 WO PCT/NO1989/000120 patent/WO1990005457A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1989-11-16 EP EP89913123A patent/EP0452335B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1989-11-16 HU HU896831A patent/HU212668B/hu not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1989-11-16 ES ES89913123T patent/ES2045565T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1989-11-16 KR KR1019900701552A patent/KR960009489B1/ko not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1989-11-16 FI FI912355A patent/FI912355A0/fi not_active Application Discontinuation
• 1991
  • 1991-05-14 DK DK090491A patent/DK170229B1/da not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1991-05-16 RU SU914895558A patent/RU1816197C/ru active
• 1992
  • 1992-01-21 US US07/826,216 patent/US5149294A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (4)

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